My life as a road warrior is about to end.
I'm an educator by training, and for the past few years I've worked for a small company that publishes textbooks. A big part of that job has been training teachers at school around the country, which is what has me on the road. (Last year I did about ...

On this week's UPGRD podcast, Matt contributed to one of the more popular myths about Southwest Airlines.
He said, "If you're a consultant who travels between LA and San Francisco each week, it [Southwest] is pretty much your only good option."
Matt's point (and the seeming ...

A lot of us have been speculating (praying?) that the other big airlines will match US Air's current double EQM promotion. UA and AA ran similar promotions for the past couple of years, and a lot of us (especially those of us who are unsure we'll be able to re-acquire top tier status) were hoping it ...

[Note: I realize that if you read this blog, you probably know better than to think highly of Southwest's frequent flyer program. But USA Today and TripAdvisor.com readers seem to think differently, so clearly there are a lot of ignorant people in the world who need to be set straight. Our work here ...

[This is a response to Mike's post, which you can find by clicking here.]
First of all, the only good things in that snack mix are the sesame sticks.
Second, the snack mix is so loaded with sodium that if you eat a cupful or two before your flight, you'll arrive at your destination with ...

The bulk of my travel is for business, and of that travel, a lot of it is on complicated itineraries. Sometimes I'll do a swing of the East Coast and visit three or four cities, I'm frequently jumping between hotels, and I often have rental cars to deal with, too.
All these reservations are a ...

My wife spent the past few days in Florida visiting family, and was scheduled to return to LAX today, FLL-DFW-LAX. Her itinerary had her on flight 697 from FLL to DFW.
When she got to the airport today, she found that flight 697 had a pretty long mechanical delay. At the Priority AAccess ...

Today, a DFW-LHR flight was met by Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets and received permission for a priority approach at Heathrow. Was there some VIP aboard the flight? Nope. From the Telegraph:
The Typhoons, from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, went to assist an American Airlines Boeing 767 ...

This past week, Hilton sent letters (with both Hilton HHonors and American AAdvantage logos in the letterhead) to certain AA frequent flyers. The letters say, in part,
Congratulations. As a valued member of the American Airlines AAdvantage program, you’ve been selected to receive two ...

On Thursday evening, I flew home to LAX from IAD. This was an eventful trip because (1) my upgrade didn't clear, the first time that's happened in several months, and (2) I rode Dulles' new "Aerotrain" for the first time.
A bit of background: Washington Dulles International Airport ...

I'm sitting in the (very lovely) IAD Admirals Club right now as I await my flight to LAX. Unless something crazy happens, I'll be sitting in economy for the first time in six months or so.
Here's the math, according the AAngel at the front desk:
AA only flies 757s on the IAD-LAX ...

I'm on AA flt. 185 right now, cruising at 40,000 ft. somewhere over Arizona. I'e watched six episodes of The League on my laptop, and now I'm sitting here with another 40 minutes or so to kill. Some thoughts:
1. I'm on an empty 767-200 right now. When we boarded, the gate agent first asked for ...

After weeks of back-and-forth haggling and the like, the Daily Yomiuri newspaper announced today (tomorrow?) that Japan Airlines (JAL) is leaving the Oneworld Alliance and entering into a relationship with Delta.
I'm trying to pack and get ready for a flight tomorrow, and I'm not someone ...

First it was Fozz on CNN CBS. Now another UPGRDer is getting famous.
I hope I'm not stealing anyone's thunder here, but I just got a very cool email that I'd like to share.
Last month, we posted on the main UPGRD blog about public radio doing a story on frequent fliers, mileage, and ...

Last week, I had a day of meetings in San Francisco. I'm well over the 125,000 elite qualifying miles I set out to earn this year on American Airlines, so I thought I'd try a different airline for the quick flights from LAX.
A number of my friends have been ...

The "Helen the flight attendant flips out over OJ" story has been hanging around the interwebs for several days now. (If you haven't heard the story, Matthew has a nice post on it.)
As an AA frequent flier and fanboy, I don't have any particularly enlightening comments on the incident ...

The Department of Transportation seems to have taken some action over the incident in August when 47 passengers were stranded on a tarmac in Rochester, Minn. after their aircraft diverted there due to thunderstorms.
The Associated Press is reporting:
Federal officials are ...

I'm consistently underwhelmed by AA's usage of technological tools to engage with customers. Their twitter and blogosphere presence is virtually nonexistent (with the exception of @AdmiralsClub). Though I find it extremely useful, their website isn't all that eye-popping or user-friendly. And they ...

A few weeks ago, I got serious about my hotel status and did a "fast track to Gold" challenge with Hilton Honors. (You can find my post about it here.)
Basically, I called up HHonors customer service, and they offered me a deal whereby I could get myself quickly to ...

You're on an airplane. You whip out your laptop to catch up on some work, to watch a movie, or to try out some of that new inflight WiFi. Of course, the second you pull out your computer, you begin doing some math in your head...
"This is a five-hour flight. My laptop battery is at 85%. That ...